ABUJA, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Gunmen killed two policemen in Nigeria's northern state of Jigawa in a shootout after they responded to a distress call over an abduction, a police spokesman said on Monday.
Gangs have been terrorising areas of northern Nigeria in recent years, forcing thousands to flee and perpetrating mass kidnappings for ransom.
A resident called police in the early hours of Sunday, spokesman Lawan Shiisu Adama said in a statement, after the assailants entered the town of Kwalam and took a 60-year old.
Two officers were shot dead and a patrol vehicle set ablaze in the ensuing firefight, after which the gunmen fled. (Reporting by Camillus Eboh Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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